NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Park and Wheaton were picked to share the 2011 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s soccer title according to a preseason poll announced Wednesday.

Both the Vikings and Thunder won the poll with 45 points and four first place votes apiece. 

Wheaton is the conference’s defending regular season champion, winning its 16th title in school history and second in the last three years.

North Park earned the CCIW’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after a 3-2 overtime victory over the Thunder in last season’s CCIW tournament title game. It was the Vikings’ third tournament title in school history and first since 2005.

Carthage placed third in the preseason poll with 34 points while Elmhurst and Illinois Wesleyan tied for fourth with 30 points each.

Augustana (19), North Central (13) and Millikin (8) rounded out the 2011 poll.

Voting is done by the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin's head men’s soccer coaches. Each coach votes for the seven other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (seven points for first, six for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.

2011 CCIW Men's Soccer Poll 

Rank	Team	Points	First Place Votes
T1	North Park	45	4
T1	Wheaton	45	4
3	Carthage	34
T4	Elmhurst	30
T4	Illinois Wesleyan	30
6	Augustana	19
7	North Central	13
8	Millikin	8